Republican Lawmaker Warren Davidson Introduces Bill Banning Private Businesses From Using COVID Vaccine Passports
Republican lawmaker Warren Davidson has introduced a bill Thursday that would ban private businesses from requiring COVID vaccine proof for employees.
Warren Davidson said that such a mandate violates civil liberties, according to The Daily Wire report. Once the bill is approved, the measure would also ban the federal government from requiring "vaccine passports" and limiting the states from doing so.
Warren Davidson told Fox News that they are not really providing a logical basis for the said "discriminatory activity." He added that they are busy separating healthy people from other healthy people by assuming that people without the vaccine are not healthy.
The measure, dubbed the Vaccine Passport Prevention Act, aims to bar the federal government from issuing any form of vaccine passport. It also bans states from doing the same as a condition of receiving federal budgets.
Private businesses, such as bars and restaurants, would also be banned from requiring any customer to provide any documentation or proof of having the COVID vaccine. The bill would also allow individuals to sue a business that requires vaccines from employees.
Vaccine Passports
Digital health passports, also known as vaccine passports, are platforms for smartphones that allow access to a person's health data, such as COVID test results or vaccination status.
New York had created a mobile pass that businesses and event venues can scan to make sure the person meets their safety standards, USA Today reported.
Since January, the United States has required all inbound travelers from abroad, including citizens, to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test despite being vaccinated.
A Gallup survey in May showed that Americans' support for the vaccine passport varies, with the majority of respondents approving mandated vaccination certification for airplane travel.
The correspondents also approved of the implementation of vaccine passports at crowded events, such as concerts and passports, U.S. News reported.
However, the majority also opposed providing a vaccination status to go to one's workplace, stay at a hotel, or dine indoors at a restaurant.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki the administration has no plans of requiring proof of vaccination. Some of the states which earlier implemented vaccine passports are Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas.
Several platforms are developing the said system. IBM has developed the New York State's Excelsior Pass that was tested at New York Nets game in February.
The International Air Transport Association has rolled out its own digital health passport. The association represents around 300 airlines worldwide, according to a CNBC report.
Concerns were raised over the use of the system, citing security on customers' data with third-party apps communicating with databases containing sensitive health information.
Governors of Florida, Texas, and Arizona had stopped businesses from requiring proof of vaccination from customers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is against requiring proof of vaccine to enter another country, with the limited evidence about the performance of vaccines in reducing transmission. The WHO also said it presents inequity in the global vaccine distribution.
READ MORE: Moderna Scientists Warn Against New COVID Variants That Could Drive a New Wave of Transmission
WATCH: Vaccine Passports: Should People Have To Prove They Got Their Shots? - From TODAY
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